6 Proven Steps to Hiring an Excel Expert

Interview Process, Skill Assessment, and Scrutinizing Excel Experts.

Create an interview schedule and invite excel experts to attend the recruitment process. In most cases, you might find yourself in a situation where every last person would consider themselves as an expert in using the Microsoft Excel software.

In reality, most of them may have learned to use a couple of formulas and automate calculation processes. They assume that they know everything about the program even though Excel is a never-ending rabbit hole where you can never touch the bottom.

Millions of business people use Excel throughout the globe for calculating and organizing a range of processes such as accounts, auditing, debt sheets, managing employee records and analyzing large amounts of data.

If you are looking to hiring an excel expert, here are some important steps that you should follow and check if they really have the skills to shine.

What are the Skills an Entry Level Excel Person Should Have?

An entry level is the most basic requirement where the salary structure that you offer could be much lower but they should possess a couple of skills in order to qualify for the job.

When you assign different tasks, the candidate should be able to immediately do all the above tasks and more using the right features within Microsoft Excel. SUMIFs, COUNTIFs, data filtering, sorting, and all the basic excel short keys should be child’s play for them. The fluent they are with the tools, the easier they will find it to get tasks done.

Quick Tip: Always use automated skill testing software programs to hire entry-level Excel candidates because they may be large in number and you can save time by using tests designed for newbies. A couple of questions and you can easily shortlist promising people from the lot.

What are the Skills to Look for in an Intermediate Excel User?

The expectation levels are much higher for a candidate who claims to have intermediate skills in using Excel. The list of tasks that they should be capable of doing has been listed below and if you can design your questions around these areas, they could pave a way to hiring the right candidate.

Capable of building formulas while editing text and date

Deep understanding on Pivot table and creating it from the scratch

Be able to use add-ins, handle its installation

Know how to use the Auto Filter feature

Ability to edit or modify macros at an average level

Should be familiar with formulas like COUNTIF, VLOOKUP, CHOOSE, MID and SUMIF

Once the candidate has cleared the skill test rounds, provide them specific problems based on formulas like VLOOKUP or CHOOSE based on your requirement. Provide a specific time limit and see what they are capable of completing within that period.

Quick Tip: Create real-life challenges inspired by your office scenario and ask an intermediate Excel candidate to solve them by using the right formula and table. It makes it easier when they come on board and start working.

How to Find if a Candidate is an Excel Expert?

Microsoft Excel has undergone multiple iterations through the years and it is one of the trusted software programs for data analysis. A person with an expert skill level should be able to make use of formulas, VBA programming and other tools to handle complex functionalities. Here are some of the important things to look for when hiring an excel expert.

Well versed in almost every formula available and be able to use them

Should have used the majority of functions

Capable of building macros and executing them at the right time

In-depth knowledge on using SUMPRODUCT, INDIRECT, INDEX, MATCH and OFFSET

Familiar with ARRAY formulas and Circular references

Capable of handling formula auditing, creating different types of charts and filter reports

A candidate who claims to be an expert should definitely have years of experience in the field. Shortlisting them on this skill level requires lots of pre-planning, a detailed testing method, and more complex questions. An easier alternative would be to use SkillRobo, a Pre-employment assessment software created for candidates of all skill levels.

The questions provided in SkillRobo are created by experts in their respective fields. When multiple Excel experts come together to create the toughest and reliable test, you can easily rely on it to help you identify the right candidate who really possesses the skills to support your demanding office work.

Quick Tip: Multiple rounds of interviews always do wonders to help you identify the best candidate as an Excel expert can be scrutinized at different levels before hiring them.

SkillRobo – What Makes it Different and Essential When Hiring Excel Experts?

Problem #1 The experienced Excel user or administrator in your office may not be available all the time to test candidates every time they walk in.

Problem #2 The time spent on interviewing a dozen candidates are much higher and the experienced people in your office, who are probably getting paid higher should definitely be focusing on more important tasks.

Problem #3 There is no guarantee whether the interviewer has asked all the right questions and if they could make a decision within a specific period. It is a time-consuming process for the candidate as well to know whether they made it to the next round.

Solution #1 Solution #2 Solution #3 – SkillRobo

SkillRobo can actually solve all your problems because it is a dedicated online testing software using which you can test candidates with a set of pre-built questions. Identifying an Excel expert or every other popular professional are pre-loaded into the software so that you don’t have to do anything on your end.

Interview Process has Never Been This Easier

Get SkillRobo running, choose the level of interview questions such as novice, intermediate or expert and receive the results within minutes of a candidate completing their test.

It is easier to conduct multiple rounds on the same day as shortlisting is made easier and you can forward candidates to the final round. It saves a lot of time, is accurate with questions prepared by real experts and can be used to test any number of candidates.

You can even send virtual tests to people located in a different city than your office and hire them if you find them suitable.